Love's Usury
by loveandotherdrugs
Summary: Jessica Potter has lived her life under the shadow of her twin brother; James. Enter her life through her struggles, hardships, romance and more. Marauder Era. SB/OC, RL/MM, PP/OC, JP/LE. WARNING! Drugs, sex, alcohol and language!
1. Chapter 1 The Train Ride

**Chapter One- The Train Ride**

Jessica and James Potter were both eleven years old, both wore round glasses, had hazel eyes and incredibly messy black hair. If you were to look at the two of them together you would know instantly that they were twins. The only way you would be able to tell either of them apart would be by Jessica's stubby, scraggly little pigtails that hung limply off of her head. They were inseparable; always with each other every second of the day and would throw a tantrum if either had to be separated. James was the elder of the two, by three minutes and he took delight in informing his younger sister of this whenever he had the chance.

At the moment, both siblings were standing in front of the barrier of platform nine and three-quarters, ready to board the train to Hogwarts. Jessica let out and involuntary shiver as she saw how many people were running through the platform; wizards and witches of all ages, carrying impressive owls and other pets.

James put a shaky hand on his sister's shoulder. 'This is it then... eh, Jessie?' said James, nudging his sister's shoulder.

Jessica shook her head and smoothed back some of her hair with her hands. 'I suppose so,' she replied. 'It just all feels… weird, you know? Leaving mum and dad, that is.'

'Yeah, I know what you mean- but we can still visit in the holidays, right?' asked James, a little uncertainly.

'Of course we can!' laughed Jessica, playfully punching James on his arm. Then her face became thoughtful and she said: 'Hey, James? What if we… what if we don't both get sorted into the same house? I don't think I could bare it if you were in Gryffindor and I was in stinking Hufflepuff…'

James sighed and shook his head as if he was a professor and Jessica was the student. 'Don't be ridiculous, Jessie. We both get into Gryffindor, I promise. Besides, don't families always get sorted into the same houses? Well, Dad was in Gryffindor and so will we be,' said James, patting his sister's shoulder reassuringly.

'But Mum was in Ravenclaw!' shouted Jessica, her eyes wide with fear. 'Everyone knows that you'll be in Gryffindor, you're brave James! Nobody knows what house I'll be in,' said Jessica, her shoulders slumping.

At that moment Charlus and Dorea Potter chose to join their children.

'Merlin's beard! Would you look at the time? It's almost eleven now!' came the worried voice of Dorea Potter. Dorea was a short and pudgy looking sort of woman. Her hair was a soft brown that hung smoothly on her shoulders in lovely waves. Her eyes were hazel, seemingly the only aspect of her that James and Jessica inherited.

'Hush, now Dorry. Don't worry, they'll be on the train soon enough sweetie,' said Charlus Potter. Charlus was a very stocky man, contrasting frighteningly well with Dorea. His hair was raven black, and stuck up and odd ends just like his children's did. James and Jessica looked almost identical to Charlus in every form except for his eyes, which were a clear blue.

Jessica let out a sigh of relief at her parent's figures. 'Thank goodness you're here!' she yelled at both of them, trying to be heard above the hustle and bustle of the station. 'We thought that you'd splinched yourselves or something!'

James laughed a little at that comment. 'What if you had, Mum? What would we have told our friends then? I really don't think: "Hi, my name's James and I've got a dad and two mums," would go down well at Hogwarts…'

'They'd probably think you were in a nasty accident of some sort… the rumours would spread like wildfire: "James and Jessica Potter; children of mutant hybrids-"'

'Yeah, mutant hybrids that won't even let me get the newest Shooting Star!' piped in James, crossing his hands over his chest.

Dorea huffed impatiently and pushed her children in the direction of their trolleys. 'Be quiet!' she hollered. 'We need to leave!'

Jessica clamped her hands over the smooth metal of her trolley and turned it into the direction of the barrier. 'You can go first, James!' she yelled at her brother.

He frowned at her. 'Whatever happened to "ladies first", Jessie?' asked James.

Jessica grinned back at him. 'It died with your looks!'

James grabbed his middle, as if he had been shot. 'You wound me!' he yelled, before running through the barrier.

Jessica stood rooted to the spot, staring down at her firm hands holding her trolley. An uncomfortable feeling of nausea engulfed her as she stared at the seemingly firm brick wall that her brother had just disappeared into. Before her mother could start yelling at her, Jessica broke into a run, her eyes shut so tight she could feel tears pricking her eyelids.

As Jessica met the barrier, the most peculiar feeling encompassed her. It was like someone had an invisible string and was lifting her up through it, but pulling her down at the same time. Then, as soon as the feeling came, it went and Jessica opened up her eyes only to see the majestic Hogwarts Express, emblazoned with wonderful gold lettering. People bustled about, and the sounds of parents' fare welling their children were about. The air smelt of liquorices, strangely enough, mingled with freshly chopped grass from outside the platform. Jessica could almost feel her magic crackling on her skin with anticipation.

'Jessica! Jessica?' came her mother's shrill cry. Jessica turned around to face her mother running up to her.

'Yes, mum?' replied Jessica, cocking her head to one side.

'Where is James? Have you seen him? He wonders off so often, that boy! He drives me insane!' yelled Dorea, wringing her hands.

Jessica huffed and rolled her eyes. It was so incredibly like James to disappear somewhere right before they had to leave. Jessica's eyes skimmed the crowd, looking for that scrawny boy with black hair and glasses.

'I can't see him, Dorry,' said Charlus, patting his wife on her back in a futile attempt to comfort her.

'Don't worry mum!' said Jessica, smiling brightly. 'He's probably on the train already with friends.'

Dorea nodded, still clearly upset that she couldn't say a proper goodbye to her son. 'I suppose so... Oh, dear! Look at the time, Jessica! You should be on the train by now...' said Dorea, pulling a flustered Jessica into a warm hug.

'Bye, mummy!' said Jessica, inhaling her mother's flowery perfume. When Dorea broke the hug, Jessica was suddenly enveloped by her father.

'Remember to write, sweetie,' he murmured. Jessica held back tears, determined to put on a brave face for her parents.

'Of course, daddy,' said Jessica, her eyes now watering despite all of her efforts. 'I love you!' yelled Jessica, before running onto the train.

Jessica casually sauntered through the train corridor, every now and again checking through the glass windows to see if anyone around her age was in one. Just as her hands were growing tired of lugging her heavy suitcase around, Jessica heard noise coming from inside the last compartment. She ran down towards it and peeked through a crack in the curtain, not declaring herself because she was afraid of embarrassment.

Inside, there were four people. Two were boys, their heads bent downwards so that she could not see who they were. Another was a boy with greasy black hair who seemed severely underfed. There was also a girl with stunning red hair and emerald green eyes. The latter was in a seemingly heated discussion with the greasy haired boy, so Jessica moved her ear closer to the door.

'You'd better be in Slytherin,' muttered the greasy haired boy to the red haired girl. Suddenly, one of the boys in the corner perked up, and Jessica immediately recognized him as James.

'Slytherin?' said James. 'Why would you want to end up there?'

Jessica's hand edged closer to the door handle, but she pulled it back when she saw that the greasy haired boy was about to answer James.

The greasy haired boy turned to face James. 'And where would you like to end up?' he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

James smiled. 'Gryffindor,' said James before placing a hand over his chest and adding in a funny voice, '"_Where dwell the brave at heart!_"' Then returning to normal- 'Like my dad.'

Jessica held in a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. The greasy haired boy, however, did not seem as pleased with James' comment as Jessica did and scoffed at James, rolling his eyes. James frowned.

'What?' asked James.

'Nothing,' said the greasy haired boy dismissively, before lowering his voice and adding, 'If you'd rather be brawny than brainy...'

The boy who had been sitting next to James frowned. 'My whole family's been in Slytherin,' he said.

James laughed and punched the boys shoulder. 'And I thought you seemed alright!'

The boy next to James let out a barking laugh. 'Yeah… maybe I'll break the tradition…'

The red-haired girl rolled her eyes and stood up, clearly tired of the bickering going on. 'Come on Severus, let's find another compartment.'

The greasy haired boy (Severus) stood up with her and frowned down at James and the other boy. James laughed cruelly at them, leaving Jessica feeling a little uneasy.

'Ooooooooh!' said James nastily. 'See ya, Snivellus!' yelled James at Severus, putting his foot out to try and trip him up.

Suddenly, the carriage door was opened sending Jessica flying backwards. The red-haired girl and Severus looked down at her accusingly.

'Have you been listening all that time?' spat the red head at Jessica.

Jessica thought she might melt under the other girl's gaze and was quite happy when Severus pulled the other girl away.

'Jessie!' yelled James delightedly from inside the carriage. 'Come on in!'

Jessica smiled and hopped up immediately, pulling her trunk towards the door when a feeling of uneasiness washed over her. She bit her lip awkwardly and stared at James. Jessica had no idea what to say to her brother, and decided to go for the blunt approach.

'You weren't very nice to them, James,' whispered Jessica, her gaze dropping to the floor.

James' eyes became confused. 'What do you mean, Jessie?' said James, cocking his head to one side.

The boy sitting next to James laughed. 'What are so upset about? That boy's weird… just look at his clothes! He looks like a bloody bat!' said the boy, sending James into peals of laughter.

Jessica shuffled her feet awkwardly. 'That's not very nice,' she muttered. 'You don't know him at all, he could be perfectly lovely!'

The other boy scoffed. 'Who are you?' he asked accusingly.

'She's my sister, Jessica,' answered James, nodding in Jessica's direction.

Jessica suddenly felt a surge of anger towards this boy. 'Who are you?' she asked, mimicking his tone perfectly.

The other boy's gaze became stony. 'Sirius Black,' he replied, glaring at Jessica. 'I would say it's nice to meet you, but seeing as it really isn't-'

'Same goes for you!' interrupted Jessica, placing her hands on her hips. She then turned to James. 'Don't pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about. You were really very rude to those people and I think you should apologize.'

Sirius scoffed at Jessica's furious expression. 'Mate, did you say she was your sister? I feel sorry for you…' said Sirius, laughing. James let out a small laugh and Jessica turned on him, her face etched with betrayal.

'James!' she exclaimed.

'What?' he protested. 'They had it coming to them! That boy wasn't normal…'

Jessica exhaled deeply, trying furiously to control her temper. When she finally felt like she wouldn't yell if she opened her mouth, she said a quick goodbye to James and left the compartment to try and find Severus and the other girl to apologize on behalf of her brother.

When Jessica did find the right compartment, she stood outside for what seemed like an age- just deciding on how best to apologize. Soon, she heard footsteps approaching and Severus saying that he needed to use the bathroom. Jessica backed away in fear and almost fainted when she saw Severus open the door.

'What are you here for?' he asked her. 'Come to gloat, have you?'

Jessica shook her head profusely. 'N-no!' she stuttered. 'I-I just wanted to ap-apologize f-for my b-brother…'

'That was your brother?' asked the red headed girl, coming out of the compartment after seeing Jessica.

Jessica nodded. 'Yes, well, you see… he wasn't very polite, and he should have been nice- but he wasn't, and he's not saying sorry so I thought I should, and…' Jessica stopped when she realized that she had been talking so fast that they probably didn't understand a word she had said. 'Look, I was just wondering if I could share your compartment. My brother and his "friend" didn't really like the fact that I thought that they should apologize.'

The red head stared at Jessica in shock for a while, before nodding. Severus sauntered off towards the bathrooms, glancing back every now and again at Jessica.

'So what's your name?' asked the red head.

'Jessica Potter. You?'

'Lily Evans, and that was Severus Snape,' replied the red head, still looking strangely at Jessica.

Jessica sighed. 'Look, I know that I sort of came off as a bit of a freak and all… with the eavesdropping, then the apologizing, then the stuttering… and I'm sorry if I talked too fast, that just happens when I'm nervous-'

'You're doing it again, the talking-too-fast thing,' interrupted Lily.

'Sorry,' muttered Jessica meekly. 'I'm actually sort of normal once you get to know me…'

'Sort of?' asked Lily, smiling.

Jessica smiled back at her, suddenly feeling immensely relieved. 'Yeah, sort of.'

**A/N: Ok, so that's the first chapter of this story! Reviews are loved and greatly appreciated if you want me to write more!**

**Lots of love,  
Purple 3**


	2. Chapter 2 The Sorting Ceremony

_If you don't believe in magic, then you can't believe in reality- _Benjamin Disraeli

**Chapter Two- The Sorting**

The train ride had been a long but comfortable one, filled with rich conversation. Jessica and Severus both came from wizarding families, so spent the majority of the ride informing Lily about the certain rules and customs of the magical world. Jessica found it extremely entertaining when Severus showed Lily a chocolate frog for the first time. Lily had let out a loud shriek and jumped into Jessica's lap in fright. Severus and Jessica had been sent into peals of laughter and Jessica took delight in throwing several more chocolate frogs at Lily. Lily had yelled at the both of them for a while because of this, which just gave Jessica and Severus more to laugh at.

Severus Snape was a funny boy. Jessica decided she liked him after engaging in conversation with him, but had to admit was extremely curious about his clothing. Everything he owned seemed to be second hand and in need of a good wash, with holes all through the fabric. Severus also had an air about him that made you feel uneasy. He seemed malnourished and on more than one occasion, Jessica had to overcome the need to hug him simply because it seemed like he had never received one in his life before.

Lily Evans was possibly the sweetest girl Jessica had ever met. Though she was a little of a know-it-all and was certainly a bossy, there was an air of kindness about her that Jessica couldn't help loving. Lily was so nice to Severus and Jessica, making them both feel incredibly at home around her. Jessica found it funny how Lily seemed to be the complete opposite of her; incredibly feminine and unfortunately proper, but enjoyed conversing with the girl none the less.

When the train ride had finished and they were almost at Hogwarts, Jessica could not but help feeling sad. Severus, on the other hand was completely ecstatic that they would be starting school soon.

'Can you believe it? We're almost there!' he said happily, dancing around the compartment which made his robes billow out behind him, giving the appearance of wings.

Jessica and Lily just chuckled quietly at his excited attitude and walked out of the compartment, Lily motioning for Severus to follow.

'Calm down, Sev!' laughed Lily, linking arms with the two of her new-found friends. 'It is pretty exciting, though- isn't it?' Lily asked quietly.

Jessica begrudgingly nodded. 'Yeah, I suppose so. I'm just really upset that I can't see my mum and dad until Christmas! It seems like such a long time, doesn't it?' asked Jessica to Lily, who nodded.

'I know what you mean, but it will probably pass really fast,' said Lily, reassuring Jessica.

'What about you, Sev?' asked Jessica chirpily. 'Aren't you going to miss your family?'

Suddenly, both Lily and Severus stopped walking and froze uncomfortably, tensing up.

'What did I say?' asked Jessica, confused at their attitudes.

Lily was the first to break out of the trance-like state. 'Nothing!' she said, a little too happily. 'Don't worry about it, Jess. You didn't say a thing.'

Despite Lily's reassurances, Jessica felt like she had deeply offended Severus and couldn't help but feel guilty about doing so.

'Look!' yelled out Lily, pointing to where a giant of a man stood tall.

'Don't point, Lily!' said Jessica, pulling Lily's arm down.

The big man towered over the crowd of first years beneath him. 'Firs' years, follow me!' he called out and started walking on a steep and narrow path. It was incredibly dark, and Jessica couldn't see anything at all so she clamped her hand even tighter over Lily's own.

'Yeh'll get to see Hogwarts in a sec…' came the booming voice of the great man. 'Jus' 'round here.'

There was a loud intake of breath from the crowd of first years, and Jessica couldn't help but to let out a small laugh at everyone's excitement. Suddenly, the path finished and the first years were led out into an opening. There was an enormous black lake, with little row boats sprinkled across the shore. In the distance, there was a gigantic castle, with booming turrets and towers that shot out to the sky.

'Only four to a boat!' boomed the giant, pointing towards the little row boats. Lily, Severus and Jessica immediately hopped into a boat by themselves, and Jessica couldn't help but feel a tad glad that no one else came into the boat with them. She didn't really feel like socializing at that point.

'Everyone in?' asked the giant man. 'Right then- FORWARD!' The boats suddenly pushed off of the shore and started gliding towards the majestic castle. Nobody seemed to be talking due to amazement, and quite frankly- Jessica didn't mind it one little bit. If anything, she felt relieved that she could simply bask in this moment of wonderment.

The boat trip was simply marvelous, despite having to duck when the6y reached a curtain of ivy that nobody wanted to touch. Before anyone could take a moment to truly comprehend what was happening, people were jumping out of their boats and the giant of a man knocked on the Hogwarts doors three times.

The doors swung open at once, revealing a very tall witch in shining emerald green robes. Her face was extremely stern, and scared Jessica a little. At that moment, Jessica vowed that she would _never_ make a fool of herself in front of that witch for fear of her.

'The firs' years, Professor McGonagall,' said the giant-man, motioning with his great, big club of a hand to all the anxious children, shivering in the cold.

'Thank you, Hagrid,' said Professor McGonagall, nodding stiffly at Hagrid (the giant man). 'I can take them on from here.'

Hagrid nodded and waved goodbye to the terrified students. Trying to be polite, Jessica waved back to the man, but her hand was quickly pulled down by Lily who was staring at Professor McGonagall with wide eyes.

McGonagall took everyone into a chamber, and then stopped, waiting for the noise to die down. Lily subconsciously grabbed Severus and Jessica's hands, dragging them closer towards herself. Truly, Jessica was glad that Lily had done so, considering that she was greatly terrified of the witch in the emerald green robes.

'Welcome to Hogwarts,' said Professor McGonagall. 'The start of term feast is about to begin, but before it does you will have to be sorted into your Hogwarts houses.

'There are four houses at Hogwarts; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house will be like your family, here at Hogwarts. They have their own characteristics which they prize over certain others. You will be sorted accordingly.

'You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in the house common room. While you are at Hogwarts, good behavior will earn you points for your house, whereas bad behavior and rule breaking will lose you points. At the end of the year we award the house with the most points the House Cup, a great honour. Hopefully, each and every one of you will be a credit to whichever becomes your house.

'The Sorting Ceremony will take place shortly in front of the rest of the school, as is tradition. I suggest that you brush yourselves up in the remaining minutes that you have.'

Jessica could have sworn that she felt the professor's eyes linger on herself as she said this. Suddenly, her hands were tugging on her messy pigtails, trying to straighten them out and flatten her hair. Lily was helping Severus with the collar of his cloak, whilst running her hands across her face to try and rub off any dirt that had accumulated there.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly, and suddenly everyone stopped talking. 'I will return for you when we are ready. Please behave yourselves whilst I am gone.'

As soon as Professor McGonagall disappeared, the chatter started up again.

'What do you suppose they'll do to sort us?' asked Lily, nervously.

Jessica shrugged. 'I dunno, but a test in front of the whole school doesn't sound too good…' said Jessica, fiddling with her hands.

'I wonder if we'll have to do any magic… I've read all of our textbooks, and I've tried a few of the more simple spells- which have all worked, thankfully- but will that be enough? I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of the whole school…' said Lily, shaking her head, worriedly.

Jessica stared at her in shock. 'You've read _all_ of the textbooks?'

Lily nodded mutely, not paying much attention to anything but concentrating profusely as if trying to remember all the spells that she had learnt over the summer.

An awkward feeling of nausea overcame Jessica. She hadn't opened _read_ any of the textbooks over the summer. She had tried, but none of it had made any sense, so she had simply given up.

Professor McGonagall returned, and gave an unusual smile at the students. 'They are ready for you now. Form a line please.'

Jessica pushed herself into the line, along with Lily and Severus. Severus looked absolutely terrified; his eyes were wide and he kept muttering things under his breath.

The students mutely followed Professor McGonagall into a hall, with stars glittering on the ceiling. Jessica blinked several times and rubbed her eyes, trying to make sense of what she saw above her.

'It's bewitched to look like the sky!' Lily whispered to Jessica and Severus. 'I read about it in _Hogwarts: A History_.'

Jessica quickly looked down again, as Professor McGonagall placed a small stool in front of everyone with a shabby black hat on top of it.

'I wonder what they're going to do with the hat,' muttered Severus to Lily and Jessica.

For a few seconds, there was only silence in the hall, and then the hat began to twitch and a rip formed near the brim, looking like a wide open mouth. Then the hat began to sing:

'_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can top them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve and chivalry,  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends.  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!'_

'So all we have to do is try on a hat!' laughed Jessica, trying to make her heard to Lily and Severus amongst all the noise.

'That is rather a big relief, isn't it?' asked Severus.

Jessica nodded, still smiling, but Lily didn't say anything at all.

'What's wrong, Lily?' asked Jessica, patting Lily on the shoulder.

'I don't think I'm any of those things!' wailed Lily, looking scared as she glared at the hat.

Jessica and Severus laughed. 'Don't worry! You'll get into a house!' said Jessica.

Suddenly, McGonagall called out: 'Abbot, Christopher!' The hat was placed on his head for a minute before crying out a big: 'HUFFLEPUFF!'

'Bones, Amelia!' said McGonagall. Amelia Bones was the next to follow Christopher Abbot into Hufflepuff.

'Brocklehurst, Robert' went to Ravenclaw, and 'Brown, William' was the first to go to Gryffindor, erupting the table into loud applause.

After what felt like a millennium, Jessica heard Lily's name being called out. The hat was on her head for barely a second before yelling out: 'GRYFFINDOR!' Jessica felt Severus slump beside her and saw Lily across the room give hopeful smiles to the both of them.

At the Gryffindor table, Jessica saw Sirius Black make room for Lily to sit down next to him. Lily instead, stuck up her nose and stalked off to another end of the table. Jessica laughed at this, and nudged Severus to show him which Jessica hope would make him feel a little better.

Soon, Jessica heard James' name being called out. James shoved pass Jessica, hurting her feelings immensely. Only a second after the hat was placed on his head, James was running towards the Gryffindor table only to sit next to Sirius Black. Then came the cry of: 'Potter, Jessica!' and Jessica gave Severus' hand a quick squeeze before running up to the hat.

Jessica shivered slightly as the hat touched her head.

'Hello, there!' said the hat chirpily. 'Hmm, aren't you a difficult one? Not a bad mind, not a bad mind- oh, now don't sound so shocked! You are quite smart… witty, yes very witty, too. Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad, now would it?'

Jessica gripped the stool tightly. _I want to be with James!_ She thought desperately.

'He's your brother, isn't he?' the hat asked her. 'Well, I do stand by Ravenclaw- you are quite witty… yes… Oh! But would you look at that? Plenty of courage, there is. And a lot of ambition, now that's interesting…'

_Courage?_ Thought Jessica, interrupting the hat. _How am I brave?_

'You are a funny one aren't you? Asking to be with your brother, then telling me that you aren't very brave. Oh, but you are! It's all inside your head… Yes… It's very clear to me now… Better be GRYFFINDOR!' said the hat, yelling the last word so that the hall could hear it.

Jessica sighed in relief and hopped of the stool, but not before thanking the hat. She ran all the way to the Gryffindor table, where everyone was cheering. Jessica slid comfortably next to Lily, who was chatting animatedly with another girl.

'Hi!' said Jessica brightly to Lily. Then continued, 'I'm Jessica Potter,' said Jessica, introducing herself to the other girl.

'Marlene McKinnon,' replied the girl next to Lily. Marlene McKinnon was a very pretty girl. She had soft, honey coloured hair and periwinkle blue eyes. Her face was round, and her cheeks a little chubby, but as soon as Jessica laid eyes on Marlene, she predicted that she would grow up to be a real beauty.

'Oh, no,' Lily sighed as she watched Severus get sorted into Slytherin. Jessica patted Lily's shoulder comfortingly.

'You guys can still be friends, you know?' said Jessica, nodding to Lily.

'Yeah,' replied Lily, still a little down-trodden. Jessica and Lily both waved to Severus, who sat down next to a blonde prefect.

Suddenly, a chubby little girl with short, spiky brown hair and a round face skipped over to the three girls.

'Hi!' said the girl brightly. 'I'm Alice, Alice Prewett! What are your names?' asked Alice.

The girls all exchanged their names and Alice sat down next to Jessica, so that Jessica found herself squashed between Lily and Alice.

Then a bearded man (who Jessica knew to be Albus Dumbledore, from her parent's stories) stood up and smiled warmly down at all the students.

'Welcome! Welcome everyone to another year at Hogwarts! Before you all become befuddled by our excellent feast, I have been asked to remind you all by our caretaker, Mr. Filch that there is to be no use of magic in between classes. The dark forest is also out of bounds for students and Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term, so anyone interested in playing for their houses must contact Madam Hooch.

'And now, I would like to say just a few words before we begin our wonderful meal: nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak!'

The Great Hall erupted with laughter and cheers. Jessica couldn't help but wonder though, whether or not Dumbledore was a little mad.

Suddenly, piles of food appeared in front of everyone. Jessica could literally feel her mouth pop open saliva drip out of her mouth. In front of her were platefuls of roast potatoes, chicken, beef, lamb, roast vegetables and all the desserts that you could possibly imagine.

Lily began to fill her plate sparsely, something that Jessica was surprised that Lily was even able to do considering how much food was about. Seeing Lily's small portions, Jessica suddenly couldn't help but feel a little guilty when she saw how much food she had on her own plate. This feeling of course, disappeared as soon as Jessica started eating dessert.

'This is incredible,' muttered Lily. 'All this magic…'

'Are you a muggleborn?' asked Marlene, between mouthfuls.

Lily nodded. 'Yes, is that a big deal here?'

Jessica shook her head. 'Not to us, Lily, but there are some pureblood fanatics who are really mean if you're a muggleborn or blood traitor,' replied Jessica.

Lily appeared confused. 'What do you mean?' she asked.

'Purebloods are wizards who are descended only from wizards- no muggle blood,' replied Alice. 'I'm a pureblood, and there's no difference, honest- thought there are some people who think that purebloods are above muggleborns.'

'Yeah, I'm a pureblood too,' said Jessica. 'I'm also considered a "blood traitor" because I hang out with muggleborns.'

'So there's no difference?' asked Lily.

'None at all, really. It's actually a bit ridiculous when you think about it, I mean, we're all people, aren't we?' asked Marlene, shrugging.

'Yeah, don't worry about it Lily,' said Alice.

Soon, they were all dismissed from the Great Hall and the four Gryffindors hobbled up to the common room, their stomachs full and heavy with food.

The prefect told the password (House Elf) to the Fat Lady who hung proudly over the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. When they entered the four girls flung themselves down on the couch in the Gryffindor common room, all of them stretching their toes out to the great warm fire which was crackling happily.

'This is nice, isn't it?' asked Marlene to everyone.

'Mm,' replied Jessica, her eyes closed and her hands on her stomach.

'We should play a game!' said Lily, suddenly hopping up and looking very bright eyed.

Alice smiled and nodded. 'Yeah! It would be a great way to get to know everyone.'

Jessica and Marlene both groaned, sending everyone laughing.

'I'm so tired!' moaned Marlene. 'Can't we play in the morning?'

'I agree with Marlene,' said Jessica, snuggling into the couch, her head resting on the pillows.

Lily huffed. 'Fine! You and Marlene can sleep whilst Alice and I play a game!' said Lily, obviously upset at Jessica and Marlene's lack of enthusiasm.

'Sounds good,' said Marlene, curling up next to Jessica.

Then Marlene and Jessica fell into blissful sleep whilst Lily glared on at them angrily and Alice hummed quietly to herself.

**A/N: Well, I actually sort of like that chapter considering I only wrote it today! It's more of a filler, but I still think it's alright. Let me know what you think through a review! I will try and update tomorrow, but I'll ask for at least three reviews before I do so. Oh, and thanks to LoAfIe_Is_PrOnGs for being the first one to review this story!**

**Love you guys!  
Purple 8)**


	3. Chapter 3Jealousy

"**Jealousy is that pain which a man feels from the apprehension that he is not equally beloved by the person whom he entirely loves"-Joseph Addison**

The next few weeks had passed like a blur to Jessica. She and James had not resolved their small feud and were at any lengths, trying to avoid each other. There was always an awkward silence resonating from the two when they were together, and if any words were said; they were said bitterly and in an argument.

Jessica found herself disgusted with James' behavior. James spent the majority of his time hexing and pranking Slytherins and in detention with his idiotic friend Sirius. Jessica hated the fact that all of James' pranks were at other peoples' expenses, thoroughly humiliating whoever James chose to target, and usually in front of the whole school. Jessica also was annoyed that however many times James was put in detention for his rule-breaking, James would continue to joke and fool around.

James' friends also irritated her. Sirius Black seemed to be under the impression that Jessica was insane, and had told a great many people lies about her. Of course, this made Jessica mad to no end especially since James wasn't doing absolutely anything to stop it. James had also become quite friendly with two other boys by the names of Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. After talking with Remus, Jessica had to admit that he was actually quite a nice and reasonable boy, but Peter seemed like he worshipped the ground Sirius and James walked on, and that made Jessica incredibly cross.

On a happier note, Jessica had also developed her friendships with Marlene, Alice and Lily. Jessica didn't see much of Severus anymore, but held nothing against the boy and was always a little put out when James would tease him. Lily and Jessica were the closest of friends, but Jessica was always annoyed at Lily one way or another simply because of Lily's standoffish attitude. Though, Jessica couldn't deny that Lily was one of the loveliest people she had ever met.

Alice Prewett was always someone Jessica could laugh with. Alice made the funniest jokes and was always incredibly forgetful, a fact which amused Jessica to no end. Jessica found Alice to be also immensely kind; always sharing her sweets out to everyone and lending all of her belongings out, even to people she didn't like- as long as she knew they needed them.

Marlene, however, was nothing like Lily or Alice. Jessica was always shocked by Marlene's straight forward attitude. At first, Marlene had come off as a little rude to Jessica, as Marlene always told the truth- often without tact, but eventually Jessica came to realize that it was just Marlene's personality. Marlene was always there to cheer Jessica up, and mend fights between someone else and Lily. Together, Marlene and Alice were a force that left you clutching your sides with laughter for hours.

Lily however was a force that left you clutching your sides in pure agony.

Professor Slughorn cleared his throat in front the gawky first years. 'Hello there!' boomed the heavy voice of the Potions Master. 'I trust you all had an enjoyable weekend?'

There was a murmur of 'yeses' throughout the classroom, but none too enthusiastically as all of the students seemed quite tired, their eyes droopy.

'Well, then! Would you please all open your books to page thirty-three so that we may begin,' said Slughorn. With a flick of his wand, writing appeared on the dusty chalkboard. Jessica could see Lily flipping eagerly through her potion's book, and gasping as she read the page.

'Ooh, this looks interesting!' Lily gasped. 'It's a little simplistic, but I suppose it could come in handy…'

Jessica tuned out of Lily's ramblings and focused her eyes on the page. They had to make a potion on how to cure boils, and Jessica was all but pleased.

'Aren't you coming Jessica?' asked Lily, motioning towards the potions store cupboard. Jessica nodded absentmindedly and hopped out of her seat and walked over with Lily. Scooping up the ingredients in her arms, Jessica was about to walk back to her seat when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Jessica turned around to meet the cold, grey eyes of her brother's best friend; Sirius Black.

'Do you have a problem?' asked Jessica, seemingly polite but with a hint of malice in her tone.

Sirius just smirked back at her. 'There doesn't have to be.'

Jessica shrugged his hand off of her shoulder and put her hands on her hips. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It means that if you move aside, there won't be a problem,' said Sirius, as if he was speaking to a three year old.

Jessica let out a short laugh. 'It wouldn't hurt to ask nicely, now would it?' asked Jessica mockingly.

'That was my nice side,' said Sirius, moving closer to Jessica with a grin spread out on his face.

'Well then it obviously needs improvement, doesn't it?' came Lily's voice. 'Come on, Jessica. We need to get a start on the potion-'

'I see how it is,' said Sirius, letting out a short barking laugh. 'As soon as you feels frightened, we call in carrot tops to comfort you!'

Jessica clenched her fists in anger. 'At least I don't feel the need to be rude to anything that moves!'

'Sweetheart, if you think that's being rude then we obviously need to spend more time together-'

Jessica rolled her eyes. 'Oh, save the ridiculous pick-up lines, Black. You sound like a bloody moron-'

'Pick-up lines?' interjected James, walking over to the three of them. Jessica could feel her heart pumping furiously in her chest. James ran a hand through his hair. 'Gosh, Sirius… Why would you want to go out with her?'

And as soon as Jessica's hopes for her brother were raised, they were beaten and mercilessly thrown onto a rubbish dump.

Lily scoffed loudly, causing everyone to look at her. 'No one asked for your opinion, Potter.' She grabbed Jessica by her wrist. 'Come on, let's leave these idiots to themselves... I really don't want to waste time on a bunch of stupid boys.'

Jessica smiled and nodded silently, casting one furtive look at James. For a moment, Jessica thought she saw his mouth open as if he was about to say something- but before she could be sure, his mouth was clamped shut with no sign that he had been thinking about talking to his sister at all.

After ten excruciating minutes of trying to master her potion, Jessica turned to Lily for advice.

'Lily?' asked Jessica. 'I think I've done something wrong here...'

Lily looked down unto Jessica's bubbling grey solution, a frown plastered across her face. 'Goodness, what did you do Jessica?' asked Lily, shaking her head.

Jessica shrugged. 'I'm not sure, exactly... I followed the instructions as best I could!'

Lily sighed. 'Look, just read through the instructions again and see if you did one of them wrong,' said Lily turning back to her own work. Jessica frowned. That had not been the reaction that she had been looking for...

'Can't you just help me, Lily?' asked Jessica, exasperatedly.

Lily turned to Jessica and rolled her eyes. 'Can't you just do it without me?'

'But-'

'Honestly, it's not even that hard!' spat Lily, then seemingly feeling a little guilty for her short words added, 'there's just not that much time left, you see...' She fiddled with her hands, anxiously.

Jessica huffed and muttered an incoherent 'yes' under her breath before clearing away some steam so that she could read the small printed text in her book.

Believing that there wasn't really anything that she could do to salvage her potion, Jessica just continued from the last step. This resulted in turning her potion the unfortunate colour of vomit.

Someone cleared their throat behind her, and Jessica turned to see who it was.

'Do you need some help?' asked Jessica's brother, James cautiously.

Jessica furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest. 'No, I am fine thank you,' said Jessica stubbornly.

James chuckled quietly. 'It doesn't look that way to me, Jessie,' he said, wafting his hand over his nose.

'I'm doing perfectly fine with it!' said Jessica, a little cross and turning back to her steaming cauldron.

James shook his head. 'It's green,' he said simply.

'So?' asked Jessica, rolling her eyes.

'Well,' said James sighing deeply, 'it's supposed to be purple.'

Jessica silently cursed as she looked back at her book and noted that James was right. The potion _was_ supposed to be purple.

'Why are you talking to her James?' asked Sirius in a rather loud whisper. Jessica kept her head down, and pretended to be reading her Potions book, but was really listening to every word that came out of either of their mouths.

Jessica could hear James sigh behind her. 'I was just offering her some help,' he said. Jessica could picture him adding a shrug at this point.

'Why would you want to help her?' asked Sirius, letting out a short barking laugh.

'Sirius...' pleaded James. 'Mate, she's my sister!'

Jessica rolled her eyes, and viciously banged her wand on the side of her cauldron. Suddenly, the solution inside started sizzling furiously and bubbling. Steam started rising, making it hard for Jessica to see what had happened...

BANG!

Before Jessica could call the professor over for assistance, her cauldron had spat the whole potion out- covering Jessica in a disgusting green slime.

Lily let out a shriek and jumped away from her own cauldron, accidentally knocking it over in the process. What happened next came as a blur to Jessica, but the next thing she noticed was that two of her table's legs were missing and the whole class had jumped up onto their chairs, looking fearfully at Jessica.

Professor Slughorn was trying to put the class in order again from under his desk, shaking his hands wildly. 'Would everybody simply CALM down!' shrieked the Professor, over the roars of the first years. His head suddenly popped out and he pulled out his wand, instantly replacing the two legs on Jessica's desk.

'SILENCE!' boomed the Professor, vanishing the solution on the floor with one flick of his wand. He took a deep breath. 'If anyone has any of the potion on themselves, could you please come to the front?'

A large majority of the class stumbled forwards, many at that stage of the lesson in tears. Jessica meekly hopped off the chair she was crouched upon and ran forwards to the professor, her bottom lip trembling.

Professor Slughorn sighed deeply as she sauntered forward. 'Dear, dear Miss... er?'

'Potter,' finished Jessica, refusing to meet her teacher's eyes for fear she would start crying. 'Jessica Potter.'

'Ah, so you're James' sister!' said Slughorn, his tone immediately changing.

Jessica frowned, but nodded. 'Yes, he's my tw-'

'Quite a good potioneer, that James!' interjected Slughorn. 'Quite good indeed...'

Jessica cleared her throat. 'Ah, professor, do you mind?' she asked, motioning to her slime covered uniform.

'Oh, yes! Of course, Julie! How forgetful of me...' Slughorn tapped his wand on her shoulder and suddenly all the slime that had once covered Jessica had disappeared.

She smiled meekly. 'Thank you, sir. I'm really sorry fo-'

'Nonsense, nonsense!' interrupted Slughorn, waving his hand dismissively. 'Anything for James' sister! Off you go now, Jennifer!'

Jessica didn't bother correcting him, but instead ran to collect her books, arriving just in time to hear a snippet of a conversation James was having in the corner of the classroom with Sirius.

'Maybe you should have helped her, mate,' laughed Sirius, clutching his side from laughter. 'Did you see Slughorn's face? That was priceless, that was...'

James' eyes became wide, as he saw that Jessica was in hearing range. 'Sirius,' he muttered under his breath, nudging his friend in the ribs.

'What?' asked Sirius, before turning to follow James' gaze. 'Oh, it's you!' he shouted upon noticing Jessica. 'That was bloody brilliant! I wonder if I'll ever be able to fail that marvellously.'

Jessica's lips started to tremble, and she could feel tears coming on. 'Stop it,' she whispered.

'I wonder if you plan these things out... No one could really be _that_ bad at Potions, now could they?' continued Sirius, laughing.

James turned to his friend. 'Come on Sirius, Remus and Peter will probably be waiting outside for us,' said James, pulling Sirius away and casting one, last apologetic look at his sister before running off with his friend.

Jessica sat in the classroom for some time after everybody else had left for lunch. Nobody had even waited for her while she was being cleaned up by Slughorn. Why did she have to be bad at everything that James was good as?

Jessica gathered up her books and walked down to the Great Hall, her heart heavy with shame and embarrassment.

**A/N: Yeah, I know- my last update was months ago. I've just been sort of occupied because one of my friends had an accident, and has only just come out of hospital- so the past couple of weeks have been pretty stressful for me. I'm also reconsidering the rating because although this story will get really dark later on, it's not that dark right now and I think that I'll just put it down so other people can read it. I just wanted people to be warned before they read this story. **

**So, I didn't exactly get three reviews for that last chapter, but more like three reviews in total :P Oh well, I did get some Story Alerts so at least I know some people are interested! **

**Keep it up everybody :)**

**Love Purple 3**


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